From our Foundation Classrooms

Foundation Curriculum Overview Term One

Phonics and Little Learners Love Literacy

Students are developing early reading skills through our Little Learners Love Literacy program, which is aligned to the Victorian Curriculum 2.0 phonics progression. Children are learning to:

• Recognise and say letter–sound relationships
• Blend sounds to read simple words
• Segment sounds to spell words

• Read and write decodable words and sentences

   

Through explicit phonics lessons, students practise sounds, read decodable texts, and build confidence as beginning readers and writers.

Reading

Students are building comprehension through rich oral language and shared reading experiences. We are focusing on understanding stories by identifying:

• Characters
• Setting
• Problem and solution
• Retelling events in order

Children are also innovating familiar texts (changing characters or events), which strengthens comprehension and storytelling skills. Oral language discussions, role-play and story retells help students make meaning from texts.

Students have already explored the texts ; Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Mrs. Wishy Washy and Humpty Dumpty.

Math

Students are developing early number sense. Our focus areas for term one include:

• Subitising (recognising small quantities instantly)
• Recognising and writing numerals to 20
• Matching numerals to quantities
• Ordering and comparing numbers

• Collecting and displaying data

   

Children practise subitising using dot patterns, fingers and dice, which builds strong mental number understanding. We are also learning to ask yes/no questions and collect class data (e.g., favourite fruit), then display results in simple graphs.

Social Emotional Learning - Respectful Relationships

Students have spent the first few weeks of school setting up school routines and following the school values of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience. 

In Respectful Relationships, students are learning about emotional literacy — recognising, naming and expressing feelings. Children are exploring different emotions such as happy, sad, excited, worried and calm, and learning that all feelings are valid. We practise noticing how others might feel, using feeling words, and learning simple strategies to manage emotions (for example, breathing, asking for help or taking a break). Developing emotional literacy supports positive relationships, wellbeing and readiness to learn.

Geography 'My Special Place'

In Geography, students are exploring the unit My Special Place. Children are learning that places can be special because of the people, activities and feelings connected to them. We are identifying different places such as home, school and parks, describing their features, and explaining why they are important. Students are also representing their special place through drawings and simple maps, building early geographical skills.